British scientists have found those working more than 11 hours per day increase their risk of heart disease by 67 percent. Considering heart disease is one of the leading causes of death, a two-thirds increase is very significant. This should be a wake-up call for all those workaholics thinking hard work can't kill you. With that said, scientists were not positive of whether it was the long work hours specifically or the things that working long hours could be associated with (poor diets, lack of exercise, increased depression, etc.) that negatively affected heart health. At this point, for those who are stuck working longer hours, it is recommended to minimize other potential risk factors by getting adequate exercise, adhering to a healthy diet, ensuring they receive adequate rest and sleep as well as effectively dealing with any bouts of depression.

A new study finds an astounding one in three hospital stays within the U.S. will be associated with a medical error or mistake. These new findings indicate medical errors are significantly more common than previously thought. In this study, researchers utilized a new tool to help identify medical errors in a review of 795 patient records. In doing so, they were able to identify 10 times the number of medical errors as compared with those found by using the Agency for Healthcare Research's (AHR) process for identifying medical errors. Previous reports of medical errors, many of which were based on the AHR's methods, are likely to have reported far fewer errors than what likely actually occurred. Of the 795 records reviewed in this study, the new method found 354 errors while the AHR's method resulted in the finding of just 35 medical errors. A separate study of medical errors based on insurance claims estimated the annual cost of medical errors resulting in patient harm to be in excess of 17 billion dollars. They found the three most common medical errors were bed sores, post-operative infections and persistent back pain following back surgery.

According to a newly published 10-year study on 38,022 women, omega-3 fatty acid consumption (found at high levels in fish) may help to lessen age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD affects millions of older adults in the U.S. alone and is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. Doctors have been able to prevent the progression of AMD once identified but are still not able to reverse the disease. This study was therefore important to identify what factors if any might be able to prevent AMD for occurring. Researchers found women who consumed foods with higher levels of DHA and EPA, both omega 3-fatty acids, experienced a 38 percent lower risk for AMD and a 34 percent lower risk for AMD, respectively. However, researchers were not positive if the omega-3 fatty acids were responsible for the lower incident of AMD or that those who consumed more omega-3s were also leading healthier lifestyles that were responsible for the lower incidence of AMD. Clearly more research is necessary. Previously, the only known way to help prevent AMD was to never smoke or for smokers, to stop smoking.

ACA Continues to Fight Boy Scouts' Discriminatory Policy, but Public Support is Crucial

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) today announced that it has developed a template letter for members of the public who oppose the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) policy change affecting the types of providers allowed to perform annual medical examinations for its youth and adult members. For over a year, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has not allowed chiropractic physicians to perform annual evaluations. Medical doctors, doctors of osteopathic medicine, nurse practitioners and physician's assistants are all eligible to perform these exams. The template letter is available online. ACA has sent two letters to BSA headquarters supporting the fact that DCs are qualified to perform annual physicals, voicing its concerns about the policy change and requesting that the previous policy be restored to recognize the state-authorized ability of doctors of chiropractic (DC) to provide annual exams to BSA. The group's decision was not supported by any evidence; in fact, chiropractic physicians performed these evaluations for BSA for more than 22 years prior to the change last year. Furthermore, many DCs are involved with BSA as volunteers, leaders or parents. While ACA is doing its part to rescind this policy, support from the public is crucial. The new template letter is designed to be completed by individuals within the scouting community, such as parents of scouts, troop leaders, troop committee members or council leaders. ACA encourages members of the chiropractic community to inform others about the online template. DCs and others within the chiropractic community are encouraged to contact BSA to voice their concern as well. A template letter for DCs, as well as BSA's phone number and talking points, are available online. The online template letter, when completed, is automatically sent to BSA. The letter for DCs has already generated considerable action by doctors throughout the country. However, despite this action, BSA has refused to rescind or even discuss this policy.† The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) and National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) have also sent letters in opposition to this policy, clearly identifying the qualifications of chiropractic physicians to perform annual physical examinations. NUHS has even extended an invitation to BSA to take part in classes on its campus to learn more about chiropractic education. "Chiropractic physicians across the country have enjoyed a long-standing involvement with scouting," said ACA President Rick McMichael, DC. "Chiropractic physicians are primary care doctors who are educated and trained to diagnose health problems, treat conditions that are within their scope of practice and refer patients to other health care practitioners when appropriate. The Boy Scouts of America does everyone a disservice with this discriminatory policy. This policy must be changed."

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), based in Arlington, Va., is the largest professional association in the United States representing doctors of chiropractic. ACA promotes the highest standards of patient care and ethics, and supports research that contributes to the health and well-being of millions of chiropractic patients. Visit www.acatoday.org.